a geologist bakes

June 14, 2016February 2, 2017

BBQ Chicken

I’ve come over all savoury of late. Can’t quite say why but hopefully it won’t last too long. This particular recipe is only wonderful. You can try go for the fully authentic option and use an actual barbecue or, like me, throw all the little chicken pieces into a frying pan in the warmth and safety of your kitchen.

If you didn’t read the title we’re making Barbecue Chicken this week.

You should be able to find all the necessary ingredients lurking in your cupboards, behind the soy sauce and to the right of the flavoured olive oils. Barbecue chicken is delicious. I also like this recipe because it requires a great deal of passive cooking but very little time by the stove.

We came back from Denmark by the way. Everyone lied. Everyone said that the weather in Dublin was glorious. We came back to drizzle and a distinct chill. A nice departure from toasty Denmark but a lie nonetheless.

I like Dublin.

As for dinner, I recommend serving this chicken with cous cous or maybe sweet potato chips. Sweet potato chips? I know a brilliant recipe for them. And maybe sweetcorn. Or a charred pepper.

You’ll need a frying pan.

Ketchup 8 tablespoons

Cider vinegar 4 tablespoons

Worcestershire sauce 4 tablespoons

Muscavado sugar 4 tablespoons

Salt 1/2 teaspoons

Chili powder – I leave this up to you but maybe 1/2 teaspoon

Bit o’ pepper

Garlic cloves 2

Chicken fillets 4

Measure out the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, chili and pepper into a large bowl and crush in the garlic cloves. Give it a big mix up and leave to one side.

before I stirred itafter I stirred it

Dice up the chicken. I recommend a 3cm dice but if you’re showing off on a real barbecue than leave the fillets whole.

Pop the chicken into the mixed up sauce and cover the bowl with clingfilm.

hmmm.

I’d say leave it overnight but we both know that is unlikely. A good, solid hour usually satisfies my impatience.

As the hour comes to an end put a large frying pan on a medium – high heat.

Add a dash of oil to the pan before putting in the chicken pieces. Do not pour all the sauce in, it’s destiny lies elsewhere. You want the chicken to catch/ caramelize and the excess sauce will stop that.

Instead, pour the sauce into a separate saucepan and bring it to a rolling simmer. That can reduce down as the chicken cooks – about 12mins. Turn the little chickeny pieces over every now and then to make sure they cook evenly.

If you’re going down the cous cous route you can start preparing it now. I used to make cous cous by pouring boiling water onto it, covering it and then hoping it worked. It was usually unpleasantly claggy.

But thanks to the last packet I read my cous cous nightmare is over. Get a frying pan, add a glug of olive oil and add in your cous cous. Let it fry away on a medium heat for 2mins before adding the required water. Brilliant. Good work packet.

Right. The chicken should be cooked now.

Remove it from the heat and serve. The beady-eyed among you may notice that my picture shows the chicken in an ovenproof dish, swimming in sauce. You’re right. It is. But as per usual I didn’t listen to me. I usually make it the way I described up there but not the feckin’ time I decide to take the photos. Sigh. The ovenproof dish works and is, indeed, easier but it’s not as delicious without the slightly overdone bits.

If you fancy the ovenproof method then pour everything, the chicken and sauce, into an ovenproof dish and cook (@180 Celsius) for 25mins. But don’t. Use the frying pan.